The Guatemala Tourist Board (INGUAT) has launched the first Maya Trek, a new holiday experience that combines adventure, nature and archaeology in the heart of the Maya World.  The new trek starts at the Cruce de dos Aguas community and ends at Tikal National Park, exploring several archaeological sites and protected areas in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, the largest nature reserve in Guatemala, which occupies 19 per cent of the country.
 

In small groups of no more than 15 people, visitors trek through tropical jungle for around 50 kilometres over three days, following the Buenavista Valley.  This was one of the main commercial routes in the Pre-Classic and Classic Maya Periods (from 800BC to 1200AD), controlled from the city of El Zotz.  Trekkers will follow in the footsteps of the legendary Siyaj K’ak’, a warrior from Tehotihuacan who conquered the area known as Peten today.  He was known as the Lord of El Zotz, and brought political stability and economic growth to this area.
 

The route starts in the rural community of Cruce de dos Aguas in the Maya Biosphere Reserve and continues through the protected Biotope of San Miguel de la Palotada-El Zotz, a nature refuge for millions of bats of 15 different species, as well as howler and spider monkeys and hundreds of species of birds and plants.  In this area, travellers will also come across the Archaeological Site of El Zotz, one of the most important Maya cities in the second half of the Classical Period and the political and administrative centre of the Buenavista Valley.
 

Trekking continues through the dense tropical jungle of El Yesal camp, accompanied by the constant calls of frogs, monkeys and other wildlife.  Other highlights include visits to El Palmar and Chiquin-Tikal archaeological sites, before the path narrows down as it approaches the National Park of Tikal, the most important archaeological site in Guatemala and a World Heritage site, where the trek ends.
 

The Maya Trek is exclusively organised by the Cruce Dos Aguas Tourism Commission, using only local guides with an intrinsic knowledge of the area in order to contribute positively to the local economy and help protect the environment. Other similar routes will be added in future.
 

To book the Maya Trek, contact the Cruce de Dos Aguas Tourism Commission on +502 45366662 / 46468019 or email turismocomunitario@yahoo.com. 

For more information on Guatemala and the rest of Central America, go to www.visitcentroamerica.com.  

For further information please contact Cristina Cunchillos at Latina Marketing on +44 (0)20 7704 8485 or email cristina@latinamarketing.com.